Familar Faces In The Strangest Of Places
by x-Adam
Summary: Harry has not seen Draco since Hogwarts, when he turns up unexpected Harry doesn't know what to do. Times have changed for everyone, but not necessarily for the better. A new threat, and an unexpected love. Please Review! :D - Harry/Draco, Slash.
1. Chapter 1

Ok Guys! This is my first ever time writing something like this and would really appreciate it if you all could be brutally honest and give me lots of constructive criticism that I can hopefully improve on in later chapters. Also you have some power in how this story turns out, I have a basic story line and a few sub plots that I would like to keep in it but if there is something that you would like to see! Please tell me and I shall try and fit it in as best I can! I am writing this story for you guys after all!

_All Harry Potter Characters, Places, Spells, Potions and other Magical Stuff are all property of the imagination of one J.K. Rowling of whom I am both eternally grateful and jealous._

Ok Guys, So I have had this story brewing in my head for the past two years or so now but have never had the guts to actually write it, never mind post it on a public website. It was only due to my cousin finally persuading me to post this that I am sitting writing this today. Before I show you my chapter one, I need to explain a few things about the background of this story. That bit in Deathly Hallows? The 19 Years Later bit? Didn't happen. All those little children that were the result of our favourite characters getting married and having a serious lack of family planning knowledge, do not exist, Harry and Draco are still single, not for long once I have had my way, but Ron and Hermione are indeed married. I am playing God here and bringing back a character from the grave. Doddy is not dead, Dobby is alive and well! One death too far Jo... I am implementing my own Hogwarts Faculty as mine is brilliant and I have everyone where they are for a specific reason. You will see. The title of this piece is incredibly important. Enough Spoilers, on with the show as they say!

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**Familiar Faces In The Strangest Of Places**

_Dedicated to Miss Laura Graham, For making me realise that Dreams can become Reality!_

**Chapter One**

The smoke from the cigarette held between two of his fingers spiralled slowly upwards, wrapping itself around the black, oak rafters of the ancient pub. His tea was getting ever colder as it sat there on the table untouched, swirling from the movement of the spoon slowly carving a rough line around the inside of the mug, keeping the dregs from settling at the bottom of its stony cold depths. His feet, clad in shiny, black shoes tapped rhythm less tunes on the floorboards beneath him, earning him annoyed looks from a few fellow customers. It was a warm August afternoon and a 24 year old Harry Potter had come to the Leaky Cauldron, London's most renowned wizarding pub, for a bite of lunch. He had ordered his usual, a large mug of Earl Grey and a sandwich containing bacon, cheese and lettuce, which was now lying forgotten to one side, and settled, in his usual seat, at the end of one of the long benches in the centre of the room. The sunlight was spilling through the large windows, illuminating the bright, white pieces of paper in front of him. It was these pieces of paper that had Harry Potter transfixed on nothing else but the black ink on white paper in front of him. One was a snippet from a few weeks ago, taken from the Daily Prophet. It read;

**HOGWARTS TO REOPEN**

Yes! You read correctly! After six long years, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is due to re-open this September to educate the next generation of young witches and wizards in the fine arts that many of our readers were most likely taught all those years ago. After the rightly named "Battle of Hogwarts", the school closed for repairs, in which they have most definitely succeeded. The Grounds of the school are now wide and vast, covered in expansive, lush lawns, covered here and there with large, exotic trees coming from all over the world, to enhance the learning potential of any budding herbologists. The lake is much the same except that it has been enlarged by a couple of hundred of yards, giving the legendary giant squid some much deserved room to stretch his... tentacles. The forbidden forest has been untouched, as has the area surrounding the school, with the exception of certain parts of Hogsmeade which have had a much needed facelift. The castle itself looks identical to the one that we remember from when we would have attended, apart from one valuable addition to the interior. The fifth floor has been extended to incorporate a new wing, housing the portraits of those who gave up their lives in the "Battle of Hogwarts" so that generations to come can commend their bravery and show their thanks. It has been rightly named the Albus Dumbledore Memorial Wing and was officially opened last month by the last remaining member of the Dumbledore line, Albus' brother, Aberforth. Apart from those major changes, the castle and grounds have each been given a much needed refurbishment and look as good as new!

Hogwarts is to be Headed by none other than Minerva McGonagall, who has dedicated more than half of her life to the school and its students, a much deserved reward for such a fantastic witch. She is to be joined by a couple of old members of the faculty who were there the year of the "Battle of Hogwarts". Professor Cuthbert Binns and Professor Sybil Trelawney are returning to teach History of Magic and Divination respectively. Madam Poppy Pomfrey remains as the loveable school matron, to take care of any injuries that students may get while taking part in the rigorous Flying lessons and Quidditch practices, overseen by Madam Rolanda Hooch. Professor Aurora Sinistra left the school after many years as Professor of Astronomy at Hogwarts and is now being replaced by Firenze, a centaur from the Forbidden Forest who up until this year has taught Divination. Arithmancy shall be continued by Professor Septima Vector and Care of Magical Creatures shall be permanently taught by Professor Wilhemina Grubbly-Plank after Professor Rubeus Hagrid left due to wanting to spend some time with his wife and children in France. The Librarian, Madam Irma Pince has retired to leave the way open for none other than Hermione Granger, who will also be taking over the position of Ancient Runes Professor. The Crime Fighting duo of Filch and Norris are no more, The feared Mrs Norris have passed away two years ago and Argus Filch no longer being able to continue working, left the school for good. This position has been taken by more than one person, around a hundred to be exact, that's right, the House Elves have taken over the complete upkeep of the castle, only after Professor Granger argued for such luxuries for the obedient House Elves as extra holidays, a decent wage and sick leave. Muggle Studies has been taken over by one Professor Blaize Zabini who says he is overwhelmed at the opportunity. Herbology will once again be taught by Professor Pomona Sprout who will be resuming her duties as Hufflepuff Head of House. Joining Professor Sprout in the Head of House group is Professor Filius Flitwick who will be teaching Charms once again and heading the House of Ravenclaw. This year, Flitwick has also decided to teach Duelling to fifth years above as a Proper examinable subject. Defence Against the Dark Arts shall be taken over by Professor Draco Malfoy as well as heading his old house, Slytherin. Transfiguration will be taught by Professor Minerva McGonagall on top of her duty as Headmistress but shall not be continuing on her duty as Gryffindor Head of House, this shall instead be given to the most celebrated member of the faculty. Professor Harry Potter will be joining the Hogwarts team taking up position of Head of Gryffindor and Professor of Potions.

With the school rebuilt and the faculty in place, there will be no stopping the School returning in full force, ready to prepare seven years of pupils for life in the wizarding world.

I will strive to keep you, our readers, updated with the happenings within the school and any exciting happenings that may occur there, after all, it's impossible to go through a year at Hogwarts without something exciting happening. Especially with Harry Potter there.

Your Local Reporter,

_Dennis Creevey_

Harry had to grin; Dennis sure knew how to waste paper. But he had to be commended; he was certainly showing in Hogwarts with his own unique style. Harry read over the staff list again, he wasn't surprised at Hermione being mentioned, she had owled him as soon as Minerva had offered her the position. However, it wouldn't be the same without Hagrid, He might even miss Madam Pince, Filch and the incredibly annoying Mrs. Norris, or not. One name stood out for him on the list. Draco Malfoy. He had not heard of the Slytherin since he had last seen him with his parents in the Great Hall on that fearful night many years ago. He had heard of his Family of course. Dead. All of them. Draco was the only remaining Malfoy in existence, just as Harry was the only Potter. Their family had been murdered by a team of assassins from Germany when they had been there for a reunion. Draco however remained behind as he didn't feel as though he was up to it. Good thing too. Don't get the wrong idea, Harry still loathed Malfoy, but now this loathing was mixed with a feeling of compassion, finally someone knew what it was like to be the only one left. Harry stopped tapped his feet, stubbed out his now burnt out cigarette and pushed the mug of ice cold tea away from him. He put his notes back into the folder he was now holding and put the folder into his bag that he had slung casually over his shoulder. He picked up the article, folded it and slipped it into his pocket. With his thanks to Tom, he quickly left the pub via the fireplace in the corner.

He appeared moments later in the Atrium of the Ministry in a billowing cloud of emerald green flames, and immediately started walking briskly towards the lifts on the opposite side of the large room, dusting himself down as he went, trying to shift some of the dust and soot from his robes before he got to his destination. He acknowledged people he recognised as he passed them and stopped only to shake a few hands and to put the change from his lunch into the depths of the Fountain of the Magical Brethren. He slammed the grilles of the lift shut and jammed the button for Level One. He was going to see the Minister of Magic. The second piece of paper that he had been reading over during his lunch was now tucked into his bag. It read;

**Harry**

Please come and see me at approximately 2:30pm today.

I want to discuss with you about your transfer from the Ministry to Hogwarts.

Regards

**Kingsley Shacklebolt**

_Minister for Magic_

That's the way Kingsley did it. Short and sweet. Not so much as a how are you or how's your Aunt Marge? He had run the Ministry efficiently and successfully for the past six years and would be looking towards many more years in office if he continued the way he was. He had a lot of support from the public and was actually seen to be doing something about the threat that was sweeping the nation at the minute. The threat was one that terrified many people. mainly because they were so secretive in their doings. They killed off random wizards and witches for no apparent reason, one at a time and each death was spaced out by around a fortnight. They were known only as The Deva, and were led by one who went only by the name of "The Leader". This was what Harry and the rest of the Aurors had been working on for the past seven months. Now Harry had been sent in to protect those at Hogwarts from the more than obvious threat. But teaching Potions? That was something harry had not been expecting, Of course being an auror, his potion brewing ability was much better than what it was when he had been at school. The potion lab was no longer a strange place to him. The lift stopped at Level one and Harry opened the grilles and got out. He walked smartly up the corridor, trying to blend in with the high ranking officials of the ministry but was somehow still out of place, like a bezoar in a game of Gobstones. He walked up to the large oak doors at the end of the long corridor. When he reached the doors he raised his hand and knocked solidly and really rather loudly three times and waited.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok Guys, Here's Chapter Two! Our favourite blonde comes into the story in this chapter! Hooray! I will try to keep getting the chapters up relatively quickly but there's a load of stuff going on at the minute in school and stuff so that's a bit annoying. But Anyway! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope that you enjoy it too and please let me know your ideas on how I could improve either the storyline or my writing style :D Thanks!

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**Chapter Two**

"Come In!"

Harry pushed open the large door and entered the room. Harry had been here many previous times before, mainly for meetings and briefings on security threats and what not from the Minister himself. It was a large, square room, lined with bookshelves, crammed full of volumes of all shapes and sizes, knick knacks such as globes, quills, telescopes, lunaspheres, sneakoscopes and chess sets also were littered around the room. On the very little remaining wall space there were huge pinboards, where messages from other departments were pinned up, as well as the minister's to-do list, a few wanted posters and even the minister's shopping list. Two people stood at the far end of the room, one, a woman, was busy pouring boiling hot tea from a large black teapot into three mugs on the large desk, which was littered with many pieces of parchment, old books, broken quills and the occasional few owl droppings. Minerva McGonagall set down the teapot and looked towards the door to see who it was had just entered.

"Harry!"

She exclaimed, walking towards him and enveloping him in a tight hug, surprisingly tight for a woman of her age. When she broke free, Harry was able to see the other person in the room, quite out of focus, then he realised that Minerva had knocked he glasses askew with her shoulder during the hug! He put the offending spectacles back firmly onto his nose and examined the Minister closely, he looked the same as he normally did, on the exterior at least, but Harry knew that Kingsley Shackebolt's physical health did not agree with him in the same way that his mental health did. Yes, the Minister of Magic was on a fast decline towards the inevitable afterlife, yet was still as determined as ever to continue on. He set down the piece of paper he had been examining and stared at Harry through a pair of spectacles which Harry soon realised to belong to Minerva, he removed them and set them on to desk and picked up one of the steaming mugs and leant back in his chair, still surveying Harry.

"Tea, Harry?"

Harry moved forward and picked up one of the two remaining cups of tea, Minerva picked up the remaining cup and they sat down together at the opposite side of the desk from Kingsley, and sipped their tea quietly, exchanging curious glances between them. Kingsley stood up, setting his tea back down and leant on his desk, resting on his hands and his back became quite hunched, a shadow of his former self.

"Thank you both for coming today. Harry, I understand that Minerva has recently offered you a teaching position at Hogwarts, Is that Correct?..."

"Yes it is."

It was Minerva who said this, not Harry, furious at Kingsley for actually bringing her here to witness him trying to stop one of her staff from teaching, and after all Hogwarts had been through, and this was the last thing it needed. Kingsley stared at Minerva for a moment before continuing on.

"Harry, I am sure this is probably not what you really want to hear but I cannot let you go back to Hogw-"

"What? But I have to go back! Everything that I own is now in that castle, not to mention that I have been writing up lesson plans and telling everyone that I am leaving for the past 6 months..."

Harry grabbed up the now near empty teapot.

"...And if you know what's good for you, you will tell me a bloody good reason why I should stay or this teapot is going somewhere that doesn't exactly smell of lemon and chamomile."

Harry knew he was probably over reacting, but with good reason. He had been looking forward to returning to Hogwarts ever since he had received the letter from Minerva.

"Harry, sit down, and please do not wave my crockery around. Thank You. Now as I was saying, I cannot let you return to Hogwarts without asking you a favour. Will you return to Hogwarts to fulfil your duties as you have promised Minerva here, but will you also protect the staff and students from the Deva? We need guards at the school and since you are going to be there already, we thought it would be a good idea for you to be an undercover agent so to speak."

"A spy then?"

"Well, since you choose to use those words, then yes, I suppose so."

"Well, Thank you for the offer, sir, but no thank you. One of the reasons I took up the position at Hogwarts was to get away from all of this, not to take it with me. I need a break Kingsley, that's all."

"Well OK Harry, I respect that and wish you well in your... position then. I have nothing more to say to you. You both may go."

With that, Kingsley sat down and leant back in his chair, watching the retreating bodies move towards the door, open it, and then leave. As soon as the door shut Kingsley let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He had done well to anger one of the most popular wizards of the age, yes, well done Minister. Kingsley was furious. He should have approached it differently, now he would have to waste Aurors to put on guard at Hogwarts, which were sure to anger the residents and the staff of the school. He was so lost in thought that he did not hear the door quietly open and someone slip noiselessly into the room. Unfortunately, the floorboards were not being co-operative, when the intruder stood on one just inside the door; it emitted a squeak loud enough to stir Kingsley who immediately opened his eyes.

"What the... Oh it's you. What do you wa-"

"Stupefy"

The Minister instantly fell onto the floor his assailant moving quickly across the room to retrieve the body, before leaving the room via the fireplace in the corner, with the Minister.

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Harry and Minerva moved quickly through the Atrium, eager to leave the Ministry as soon as they could. The two had a strange bond. They were both incredibly close to the late Dumbledore, they were both Gryffindor Alumni, and they both hated Kingsley Shacklebolt! Ever since he had become Minister, Kinsley had changed. He was not the man who they both used to enjoy his company and who used to be the heart and soul of the Order of the Phoenix. He was an odd man, corrupted by power and authority and had become very drab in his actions. They were both thinking at that exact moment in time that the sooner they got a new Minister, the better.

They reached the fireplaces on the other side of the Atrium and Minerva reached into the pockets of her robes and reached out a scarlet pouch filled with emerald green powder, she took a pinch of the magic dust and turned to Harry.

"I'll see you on September the first then Professor!"

She gave him a small wink and threw the powder into the fireplace and stepped into the billowing green flames.

"Hogwarts!"

It was times like this that Harry really loved Minerva McGonagall, even though she would be turning eighty years old this October, she never gave any indication that she was being affected by age. She had always been there for him, even over the last few years with help on various things he had been having trouble with. Harry had also kept in contact with Pomona Sprout who had nurtured Harry into a very talented and passionate herbologists, who during the past year had transformed the garden of his current home which has none other than Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, which he had completely refurbished with the help of his friends, and Kreacher of course.

Harry reached into his pocket for his own floo powder and cursed himself for not asking Minerva for some before she left, having just remembered that he had used the last of his up to get here. He walked over to the red telephone box, standing alone at the end of the row of fireplaces which he entered and immediately began to rise upwards. He stepped out into the dazzling... rain? The skies seemed to have opened up and water was pouring down like there was no tomorrow. Harry stuck his wand hand out in front of him and immediately was covered in ice cold water as the Knight Bus pulled up in front of him, going straight through a large puddle. The doors opened and Harry hurried up the steps.

"Hello, and welcome to the Knight Bu-, Oh, Hey Harry!"

"Hey Dean. Twelve Grimmauld Place please."

"No problem Harry! Luna! Twelve Grimmauld Place for Mr. Potter! Pronto!"

"OK Dean! Hi Harry! Sorry about the water, I'm still learning, all of these buttons and levers confuse me!"

Harry smiled as he walked down and look a seat near the back, after paying Dean for his ride. Dean had taken over the Knight Bus after working in the Department of Magical Transportation for a few years but was eager to get out of the office and onto the roads so to speak. Luna had joined him only two weeks ago and was currently still learning to control the huge, violet, triple decked monster that was the Knight Bus. Oh. And they were engaged. Dean had recently proposed to Luna after 2 years of on and off relationships, Luna had agreed and they were now planning the big day, at which they were arguing over what entertainment to have at their reception. Dean wanted the Weird Sisters and Luna wanted a band called "The Snorkacks" who specialised in welsh folk songs about endangered mythological and magical animals. Harry said goodbye to the pair as they reached his stop. They replied, of course, in unison.

"Bye Harry!"

Harry stepped onto the near flooded street and looked up at his home. It really was rather grand, and now that the fidelius charm had been lifted, it was open for everyone to see, but that did not mean that it had all sorts of protective spells on it. Harry's eyes trailed down the front of the building to what looked like some sort of lumpy shadow lying on his doorstep. He could not see properly through the heavy rain and so approached cautiously with his wand held above him, ready to strike. A bolt of lightning cut across the sky and illuminated the square, the house and the dirty, drenched blonde hair of the man lying before him. Blood was smeared across the man's face and he lay there, making no noise, not moving an inch. Harry barely managed to find the ability to speak in his shock.

"Malfoy?..."


End file.
